Girls' Frontline: Before
by DudeFromAcrossYourStreet
Summary: "Grifon & Kryuger"? Why, that name has a long history.
1. Prologue - Griffin & Kryuger

"Here are the reports for today, Sir Kryuger." A young girl of orange hair and blue eyes placed a stack of papers atop a desk. Her outfit consisted of a crimson coat with a white undershirt and a black necktie. Her black heeled boots reached all the way to her knees and an emblazoned company logo acted as a stylish kneepad.

"Thanks, Kalina." The man named Kryuger sat behind the desk, his work uninterrupted. He was old and grizzled, clearly a man who has seen years of fighting. His hair had begun to whiten but only a small part and has certainly not reached his facial goatee yet. He wore a crimson coat like the girl but his had expensive fur on the collar. Underneath the coat was a black outfit.

Kalina's eyes wandered around the office a bit before she found a magazine on a glass case. The cover consisted of Kryuger himself standing in front of the headquarters of their company. "Grifon and Kryuger." Kalina whispered to herself, the company's name. Then, a thought came to her mind and she was not one to hide thoughts. "Sir, if I may…"

"What is it, Kalina?"

"Why did you name our PMC 'Grifon & Kryuger'?" She curiously asked. "Where'd the 'Grifon' part come from?"

The question made the man himself stop writing and raise his head to look at Kalina. "Do you really want to know?" He asked the girl back.

"Uh, well, if it's classified information or something personal…" Kalina realized that her curiosity may be going too far.

"No, no. I can tell you if you want to." Kryuger assured. "It's personal, yes, but I trust you. Do you have time though? This'll be a long one."

"Uh, yes. I'm off after I deliver the reports so…" Kalina replied.

Kryuger put his pen down, assumed a more comfortable position in his chair, closed his eyes, inhaled…

* * *

…then exhaled.

"We're doing this again because we need to polish our moves and maneuvers. You almost shot a hostage!"

"Hey no. I shot at the target behind him. A well-placed chest shot too."

"In a real situation, a hostage will not be struggling in a fixed set of movements. Which means he could be moving around randomly. Which means you could've hit or even just grazed him. Which means our shots must be true with wide safety margins, so we don't fail or compromise the mission."

"That's not… Ugh, fine. Let's just get this over with."

Barry can be such tight ass about these things. I reload my submachine gun and place myself next to Barry at the starting position. "Ready when you are." I told my partner. Barry then pressed a button on the side and two blares of the siren followed before a louder, longer blare that indicated the start of the exercise.

The training course came to life. Me and Barry took our positions on the first door. I kick open the door while my partner tossed a flashbang inside. I was the first to enter and took down the holographic images of blinded and stunned hostiles. "Room clear!"

Barry was the next to enter and immediately went to the stairs that led to the lower floor. I followed behind. The stairs led to an open entryway to the next room. A holographic hostile emerged to greet the two of us with his holographic rifle, but Barry took him down with a well-placed shot with his own, real rifle.

We cleared the downstairs room after throwing another flashbang in there and formed up at the door that led to the next and final room. But things here a little different, I kick down the door but me and Barry enter the room simply storm in with our weapons at the ready. In the room were several men tied up and bound. All holographic, of course.

A hostile emerged from some crates holding a struggling hostage. The former's got a pistol on the latter's head and this is the part where I shoot the hostile through the hole between the hostage's arm and rib. But Barry doesn't like that, so we have to handle this 'professionally'.

Usually, me and Barry try to beat each other on who gets the first shot on Mister Holographic Hostile's head. But I'm not feeling competitive today, so I instead moved slowly to the side to provoke a reaction from the hostile. It had indeed and the hostile turned to face me, exposing his back to Barry and with one more gunshot, the simulation was done.

"Hostages secured. Good." Barry muttered. "Wanna go another round?"

I looked at him incredulously. "What do you think?"

Barry snickered before the PA system in the room lit up. "Berezovich Kryuger. Please report to the briefing room." A stern female voice ordered.

Yep, that was my partner, Berezovich Kryuger. I call him "Barry" because both his names are too damn long. In his twenties, looks rough, pretty nice combed hair though. I never found out if he was actually Russian or from somewhere in Eastern Europe but since he's working for the Russian internal affairs faithfully, I guess it didn't really matter.

"You too, John Griffin." The PA system added.


	2. Chapter 1 - Breaking Point

_In the year 2030, a facility in Beilan Island, an island off the coast of Shanghai, China blew up and threw a virus known as Eurosky Low-Emission Infectious Disease, or ELID for short, into the Earth's atmosphere. The planet's trade winds then carried the virus across the_ _globe_ _, turning_ _the world_ _upside down. This was_ _known_ _as the Beilan Island Incident._

 _Countries_ _and cities_ _across the_ _Earth_ _were devastated as the virus either wiped out the citizens or turned them into horrifying mutant_ _monstrosities_ _. Those that survived had to flee for their lives as vast swathes of land were rendered uninhabitable_ _by the virus_ _. Once all was said and done, the global population took a steep drop thanks to ELID._

 _Some countries survived though. Changed, but still there, still standing. The others were_ _not so lucky. Those countries practically vanished overnight_ _. Not with a bang, but a whimper. Once populous cities were now empty ghost towns._ _Busy streets were now nothing but ruins. Buildings that used to house many families were now deserted. The world was but a shadow of its former glory._

 _A lot of people blamed China for the worldwide catastrophe_ _and wanted them to pay for it_ _but…_ _what're they gonna do about it? They got hit the hardest and now they're a fifth of its original size._ _All anyone_ _could do now was move on._ _But moving on was hard. Things just weren't the same anymore, no matter how much people wanted it._

 _The surviving countries of the world have redrawn their borders and boundaries_ _because of the Beilan Island Incident_ _. Thing is, habitable land and usable resources have gone REALLY scarce thanks to_ _ELID_ _._ _Negotiations went in circles. There just wasn't enough for everyone to get by and that became clearer with each debate._

 _So now, the world_ _teeters on the brink of war._

 _Quite peachy, ain't it?_

* * *

["Breaking Point"]

[April, 2045]

[Agent John Griffin]

[Ministry of Internal Affairs]

[Moscow, Russia]

The bright lights of Moscow illuminated the city's streets in the darkness of night. Huge plasma screens on the sides of buildings showed all sorts of advertisements. New gadgets, new cosmetics, trailers for upcoming movies, the usual stuff. But there was one advert that piqued my interest. One about androids or something. I didn't make out much, the car I was on drove by too fast.

Meanwhile, Barry was sitting beside me and slept like a log. To be honest, I really should join him or else I'll be yawning like an idiot at the meeting. "Hey John, you heard about the new android tech that's the rage these days?" The guy at the side seat in front of me suddenly asked. This guy was Kiril. Just another fellow agent at internal affairs. Funny he was asking about that.

"Not really. Know anything about it?" I asked back.

"I don't know much myself, but I do know that some brass are thinking about using androids and robots to bolster the workforce." Kiril replied. "Workers and employees are in demand and babies don't exactly grow on trees."

"Honestly, that could be a good idea." I smiled, a joke at the ready. "I'm getting tired of fetching coffee all the time." The two of us then chuckled. I did honestly agree though. Thanks to the Beilan Island Incident, there wasn't much manpower to go around. Today, you gotta do stuff other people should be doing but you had no choice, there weren't any 'other people'.

"We're here." The driver said, parking the vehicle in the lot. I didn't know who this guy was. Probably a new agent in our ministry. "Hey there, wake up." He sternly told Barry. He sounded like an a-hole but we're not here to start a fight. Quite the opposite in fact.

Our job here was to safeguard another meeting between NATO and my bosses, the Soviet Union. No doubt about land borders again and no doubt that it'll go nowhere again too. Cede a piece of land these days and you might as well cede your entire country. I'm surprised people haven't taken up arms yet. Not that that's a bad thing.

We disembarked the car and rendezvoused with the Soviet officials, leaving Kiril and the driver behind since they've got other assignments. I don't want to brag but me and Barry are pretty top-notch in internal affairs so we got the special honor of walking with the Soviet diplomats. Although... "Hey Barry, don't you think there's like, fewer of us than usual?" I quietly asked my partner as I surveyed the security we had.

"I noticed that, too." Barry replied. "It's either we don't think anything's going to happen in this meeting since we've done a dozens of these already... or something fishy is going on."

"I hope it's the former."

"For the world's sake, I hope so too."

At the entrance, I was about to open the door when it was suddenly opened for me, and I was greeted by a pretty girl in a maid outfit complete with the headdress. Her hair was long and gold in color and her eyes were blue but there was just something off about it. Same with her smile. "Hello. Please come in." She uttered. The tone was friendly yet void of emotion. I was stunned for a moment before turning to my partner.

"I-I didn't know we had… robots in the building." I quickly figured out and told Barry.

"Don't be too surprised. You were just talking about them in the car, weren't you?" Oh. I guess he wasn't entirely sleeping then.

We and three other agents escorted the Soviet diplomats into the multi-story building. The place was recently built since the older buildings were no longer compatible with the increasing advancements in security technology. This place had automated ceiling turrets, laser scanning rooms, state-of-the-art bunkers, you name it.

Soon we all got inside the chandelier-lit meeting room and the Soviet and NATO diplomats sat in the wooden, oval table while the security details of both sides, that's us, all took our proper places inside the room. The Soviet ambassador and the NATO one shook hands then the weirdest thing happened.

"Don't move! Don't move!" The NATO ambassador turned the Soviet around, wrapped an arm around his neck and pointed a pistol at his head. "Put your guns down! I said put your guns down!" The NATO man yelled. His security detail and the other NATO ambassadors all aimed their weapons at us. I guess they're all in on this tirade.

Me, Barry and the other agents all took aim with our weapons. The other Soviet officials crouched and moved away from the NATO men as much as possible. "I said put down your weapons! And don't make any sudden moves!" We did not comply. Mostly out of defiance but I'm sure out of confusion too. And disbelief. None of us were fools. We all knew what this altercation would mean for the future.

"John! What do we do?!" Barry snapped me back to reality.

I smirked. "Just like the sims."

Barry realized what I was talking about and smirked back. I then moved slightly to the side, shifting the hostage-taker's attention to me. "Hey, I said no sudden moves!" As he yelled at me, Barry also moved to the other side and put a bullet in the NATO dude's head. With the first shot fired, the firefight began.

I managed to take down two of the NATO enemies while Barry took another two down. Two of our agents also go down from NATO fire as the shootout continued. I shoot another NATO hostile down while Barry engaged one in melee combat. There were only a few left but the third Soviet agent went down, leaving only me and Barry left. At least he took one down with him.

Me and Barry finish off the remaining NATO hostiles in the room. I caught the last one coming out of cover by surprise and I aimed my pistol right at his head and with a pull of the trigger—

*CLICK*

Well that's unfortunate. I dropped my empty pistol as I stopped the NATO hostile from aiming his weapon at me. With a punch to the face, he dropped his weapon and we began some good ol' fisticuffs. He then pulled out a knife which he swung at me, but I managed to catch his hand and drive the knife into him instead.

Barry began communicating the situation to our superiors while I approached the Soviet ambassador. "Sir, are you alright?" I asked the crouching official.

"I-Is it over?" He asked back.

"Yeah." I answered. "At least for this room. I don't know about outside."

"Does… does this mean we're at war?" That made me pause for a second. He asked the right-est question of all.

"I guess so." I sighed.

"John, the entire building is compromised. There are hostile forces all over." Barry told me after he was done contacting our superiors. "Our orders are to escort the Soviet officials out of the area while the other security teams secure the area and eliminate the hostiles."

"Roger that." I picked up the submachine gun of a dead NATO guy. "Take point, Barry, and I'll watch the back."

"Alright." Barry then addressed the Soviet officials, not a single one of them was hurt at all somehow. "The building has been infiltrated and compromised by hostile forces. Me and my partner will escort you all out of here. Follow me and stay down." He then went back to me. "You ready, John?"

"Ready."

"Then let's move out."

* * *

The sounds of gunfire on the other rooms and floors made us alert but we did not encounter any more of the NATO guys as we moved to the building's exit. Only the remains of firefights and the corpses of our comrades and enemies. Even some of the turrets were kaput, ridden with holes and bullets. The turrets still online droned ominously as we passed by.

I… I wanted to focus on the mission. My training told me. Forced me. Yet, I could not help but ponder. Would this really lead to war? Humanity's on its last legs and yet we still found the time to duke it out some more.

We were at the exit. I immediately opened the doors and Barry led the Soviet officials out of the building, meeting up with Kiril and the driver with me catching up. "What the hell's going on?! We've heard gunshots." Kiril demanded from Barry. A click of a cocked pistol and one gunshot later, Kiril was dead. Shot by the driver.

The pistol was next aimed at Barry but he quickly grabbed the pistol and threw the driver over his shoulder then shot the driver dead. My mind worked fast. If we've been infiltrated, then that means...

Figures emerged from the parked vehicles, armed and hostile. "Get back! Get back inside!" I yelled as me and Barry opened fire in an attempt to suppress them, falling back in the meanwhile as well. But it was too late, the Soviet diplomats were all gunned down. Barry dove into cover behind some stone fences while I managed to return to the building amidst the gunfire.

I opened the door only to be greeted by four NATO operatives ready to rid me with bullets. But then a figure quickly, like a snap, stepped in front of me. "Human in danger!" A female voice uttered in alarm yet without emotion. It was the maid robot from earlier. The NATO guys fired and the android acted as a shield, soaking up all the bullets meant for me.

The robot fell back and I caught her with an arm, my other arm with the gun already shooting back and taking out the NATO hostiles. The maid then died... well, went offline I guess. I realized that when her body truly fell and damn was she heavy. I was forced to the floor, cradling her dead... err, offline body. Looking at her face, you couldn't tell she was gone. Her face was neutral, as if she was still alive and going on about her business. Her eyes wide and her lips flat.

I was snapped back when someone entered the door. I immediately took aim but it was just Barry. "John, you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I replied and lowered my gun. "What's going on outside?"

"The police came. Wiped out the NATO hostiles." Oh. No wonder he looked relaxed as he entered. "The building's clear too. The perimeter's secure. Come on, Colonel Orlovsky's outside for the debrief."

I nodded and removed myself from the maid robot and laid her gently back. I took the time to close her staring eyes.

* * *

"Agent Griffin. Agent Kryuger."

We were greeted by Colonel Orlovsky. He was a fair-skinned man in his forties. A bald, shiny head, aged and hardened brown eyes, and one slick caterpillar above his lips colored gray. He wore military fatigues much like the other soldiers but his senior rank was obvious. We knew Orlovsky and he knew us. He was an honorable but also practical man. Patriotic but not blind.

"I see you have failed your objectives." He remarked at the dead Soviet diplomats being loaded into the ambulances.

"We... don't have an excuse, sir." I replied. We messed up. Caught by a surprise we should've seen coming.

"It's okay. Neither do we." The Colonel walked past me and Barry and looked at the somewhat ruined meeting building. "We were caught unaware. We didn't think NATO would be this bold." He sighed. "Still, what did they hope to accomplish by taking hostage of our ambassadors? Leverage? Do they not know actions like this only lead to war?"

I stayed silent but Barry had something to say. "Sir, if I may speak..."

"Granted, Agent Kryuger."

"Sir, we noticed there was less security here than in the previous meetings. We thought it was nothing at first but..." Barry trailed off and let the Colonel silently finish the sentence.

"Well, we were infiltrated, Barry. They must've decreased security for their ambush." I said.

"That deep?" Orlovsky was then silent for a moment before turning around. "Get some rest, you two. It's gonna be busy soon. Real busy."


End file.
